November 20, 2018 Royal Mail has gifted a red post box to HM Armed Forces in Bahrain to ensure that troops can post Christmas messages home to loved ones as well as having a small reminder of home.Simon Barker, UK Process Operations Director at Royal Mail, said: “We were delighted to play Father Christmas and gift an iconic red postbox to troops in Bahrain, especially as we approach our busiest time of the year. We would encourage everyone to make sure they post by the BFPO and UK posting dates and to always use the postcode or BFPO number. We wish all our colleagues in the BFPO and those serving overseas a very Merry Christmas.”The box travelled over 4,300 miles to reach its destination and was transported by the Royal Navy to reach its final position.Commander Steve Forge Royal Navy, head of logistics at the UKMCC in Bahrain, said: “Nobody likes being separated from their loved ones at Christmas time, so it’s hugely important for morale that our sailors, troops and airmen have parcels to open on the day.”The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) delivers mail to servicemen and women across the globe with the help of Royal Mail. The BFPO posting dates are posting dates are by 26 November for operational HM Forces and 14 December for static HM ForcesRoyal Mail handled over 140 million parcels last Christmas with the BFPO processing 155 tonnes of forces mail which was sent to sailors, soldiers and airmen all over the world.The BFPO Christmas Free Mail Service (CFFMS) allows friends and families of service personnel in some locations to send letters and small parcels (up to a maximum of 2 kg) to them free of charge during this period.

Source : https://postandparcel.info/99053/news

NZ Post prepares for job boom in lead up to Christmas

November 16, 2018New Zealanders’ growing love affair with online shopping is seeing NZ Post hiring an extra 600 people in the lead up to another record-breaking Christmas.NZ Post Chief Operating Officer Mark Stewart says the Christmas jobs will be spread around the country to help deliver a predicted 20% increase in parcels compared to Christmas last year.“Last year we processed and delivered 2 million additional parcels in November and December. This year we’re expecting that figure to be at least 2.4 million.”NZ Post employs and partners with around 6,000 people throughout the year, but Mark says as the busiest time of the year approaches, it’s all hands on deck.“We deliver 1 in 2 parcels bought online in New Zealand, and we know how important this time of year is for our retailers and their customers, so we’ve been planning for this all year. We’ve got more people working with us, and we’re increasing our Auckland fleet with another 100 vans out there delivering for our customers. Later, we’ll have around 200 more vans countrywide making sure that parcels are getting to where they need to be. We’ve also got another, fourth 737 plane for extra air capacity, in operation from even earlier than last year.“At Christmas, we believe it’s the thoughtfulness of buying, wrapping and then sending a parcel is what really matters. And New Zealand Post’s role in this is clear. We’re here to get that thoughtfulness into your loved one’s hands as carefully and efficiently as possible.”

Source : https://www.nzpost.co.nz/about-us/media-centre

Equality starts at the top: Holgate

November 16, 2018Australia Post chief Christine Holgate says the push for gender diversity has to come from the top, and that hiring females for executive teams will drive economic equality better than board placements.Ms Holgate, the first woman in the 209-year history of Australia Post to be crowned chief executive, said it was up to corporate leaders to insist on increasing female representation in their executive ranks.“I think it does start with us leaders — you have to take initiative,” she told The Australian’s The Deal magazine, out today.“You are going to choose the best person for the job but if you are insisting that there is a woman on the short list then everyone gets to hear that they can’t just give you the three people that they know.“The women are there and it has to come from you. You can’t blame anyone else. And I don’t care what industry you are in.”When Ms Holgate took charge of the country’s most recognised brand and started shaping her new team, she asked the headhunters to have a female on the short list for every role.“It is not women on boards that are going to give us economic equality,” she said.“It is women around the executive team in real roles.”Ms Holgate said women had to be able to look up and see that they could do it, and that was difficult if there were no female role models.“If I am the first female chief executive (at Australia Post) in 209 years, then if I do not argue for equality and respect, then who is going to do it?” Ms Holgate said.Debate on increasing female participation on boards and in management roles has focused on quotas, but that is one initiative Ms Holgate does not favour. What she does support is measurement: she believes that what you measure, you generally get.“I think if you do things like say 50 per cent of our leadership team is going to be women over a certain period of time, then if you start measuring it and putting things in place, you can get there,” she said.Nicole Sheffield, executive general manager of community and consumer at Australia Post, said it was essential to have an equal number of women in executive leadership roles, because it reflected society.“Diversity means productivity. A more diverse business is a better business and the returns will be there,” she said, adding that Australia was the most diverse country in the world, so it must strive to have the most diverseand inclusive executive teams.“All leaders must own it and every level of the organisation must feel it,” she said.“A CEO that doesn’t embrace diversity and understand the power of female leadership has lost touch with society.”Janelle Hopkins, Australia Post’s group chief financial officer, said having an equal number of women in executive roles sent a clear message to women moving through the leadership pipeline.“If most of the role models we have in business and politics are men, how do you inspire women to go after top jobs? How do you show them it is possible no matter what your gender?”

November 16, 2018A group of U.S. Postal Service advocates have launched a national advertising campaign to push back on the Trump administration's proposal to privatize the mailing agency, warning Americans about potential drawbacks of a non-governmental system.The ad, titled “Keep It. It’s Yours,” comes with a media buy that will air it during high-profile programs such as Meet the Press and Face the Nation. It has backing from the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers. The groups are still finalizing the extent of the buy, but it will be in the six figures and include Facebook advertising to reach 6 million people.The ad cautions against a privatized Postal Service, saying it could lead to slower mail, including for packages and medicine, and force customers in rural areas to pay more.The groups launched the campaign in the wake of the Trump administration's push for privatization as part of its governmentwide plan to reform and reorganize federal agencies. The White House said USPS should first place itself on better financial footing, then sell itself off to the private sector.“A privatized Postal Service would have a substantially lower cost structure, be able to adapt to changing customer needs and make business decisions free from political interference, and have access to private capital markets to fund operational improvements without burdening taxpayers,” the White House said. “The private operation would be incentivized to innovate and improve services to Americans in every community.”President Trump has also created a task force to make recommendations for improving the Postal Service. The group has delivered its preliminary findings to the president and the administration previously said the final report would be released before the end of the year. Multiple sources involved in conversations with the task force have cast doubt on speculation that the final version will include a recommendation for privatization, but they have yet to see a final draft.The ad buy also follows a national “day of action” organized by APWU, during which postal employees and lawmakers held rallies in more than 150 cities around the country to encourage Congress to keep the Postal Service public.“Selling off the postal service would be a gift to Wall Street and a setback to everyone in this country who receives mail,” APWU President Mark Dimondstein said. “This is the people’s post office, older than the nation itself, enshrined in the Constitution, with the highest favorability rating of any federal agency. We need to send a clear message to the White House that the U.S. mail is not for sale.”

Source : https://m.govexec.com/management/2018/11

Japan Post Group announces financial results for H1

November 15, 2018Japan Post Holdings’ net income has increased from the same period last year by 23.9%, from ¥180m to ¥223m, in the six months ended September 30, 2018. Its ordinary income was down 1.66% from the same period last year, to ¥6.27bn. Net ordinary income also was down, by 1.14% to ¥415m.In Japan Post Company’s Postal and Domestic Logistics business, revenue increased by ¥57.5bn, or 6.3% year-on-year, driven by the continuous expansion in operating income from Yu-Pack and Yu-Packet. The volume of Yu-Pack and Yu-Packet handled increased by 18.1% year-on-year for the six months ended September 30, 2018, while the pace of increase has slowed down recently. The volume of Yu-Mail handled increased slightly, although the volume of ordinary mail handled decreased by a small margin. It made a net operating loss of ¥4.7bn, representing an improvement of ¥33.2bn year-on-year due to a rise in revenue exceeding increases in personnel expenses and other expenses in operating expenses.Toll international logistics business’ revenue increased by ¥4bn year-on-year owing to a continuous increase in operating income in the Global Logistics business. Its net operating income (EBIT) increased by 41.3% year-on-year due to a better performance in the Global Express business.

November 21, 2018 Kempen Capital Management has been confirmed in the role of fiduciary manager by Stichting Pensioenfonds PostNL, the pension scheme for Dutch postal workers, which claims some 95,000 members and assets of around €8.5 billion.The scheme will begin transferring responsibilities to Kempen from TKP Investments (TKPI), from the end of this year – effectively splitting advice and asset management.Pensioenfonds PostNL has used TKPI as its fiduciary provider since the pension fund was first established.René van de Kieft, the fund’s chairman, said the pension fund’s board wanted to make a clearer distinction between strategic advice and manager selection on the one hand, and the execution of investments on the other.“At TKPI we find the roles are mixed up – the same people play a role in advising and organising the mandates,” he said.Van de Kieft added: “We are satisfied with TKPI as an asset manager and the returns that it has made on our investments.“We have noticed, however, that in the advisory role TKPI lacks knowledge and experience in research and advice on certain alternative investments.”From the end of 2018, PostNL will begin transferring parts of the fiduciary mandate to Kempen, starting with the strategic advice on the investment portfolio, including the overlays for interest rate and currency hedging.

Source : https://postandparcel.info/99069/new

CPC Says No and is Waiting for Legislation

November 21 2018So far Canada Post has not moved on any of our key issues. Justice Firestone stated in his decision that after the Conservative Government introduced the back-to-work legislation in 2011, that Canada Post hardened their position in bargaining. The effect of this legislation was to “substantially interfere” and “to disrupt the balance of a meaningful process of collective bargaining”.

Now We Wait and Prepare to FightWe are still here and ready to negotiate, but what about Canada Post? We do not know what will be in the back-to-work legislation. No matter what, you have to be prepared to fight for your constitutional right for free collective bargaining. We went to court and won this fight after the 2011 legislation. We will fight once again, should that right be taken away.

Messaging From CPC Interim President and CEOThis afternoon while the parties were working with the mediator to try and make some progress, a letter from Jessica McDonald was being handed out on the work floor. This letter is a sales pitch from Canada Post trying to convince you that they tabled offers that addressed your concerns. This is not true. Nothing in Canada Post’s proposals dealt with short-term solutions to over-burdening and inequality. Nothing to reduce the day-to-day burden that you all face and nothing to address paying RSMCs for all hours worked.

Time to Remain Strong and UnitedThe last four weeks have been very difficult for all postal workers and their families. With the impending legislation, things will get more difficult. We have shown Canada Post that we will not back down. We are proud and we will fight for what we deserve.

The Time to Stop Unjust Legislation Is Now!

Source : https://www.cupw.ca/en

Software problem with Swiss Post hand scanners resolvedNovember 20, 2018Due to a software problem, the hand scanners used by Swiss Post delivery staff did not always save the signatures of letter and parcel recipients over a two month period. As a result, registered consignments lacked signatures. Swiss Post has developed a solution for the software problem and undertaken measures to prevent such incidents occurring again in future.The hand scanner is an important tool for delivering letters and parcels. Our mail carriers use it to record the signatures of recipients, which then serve as evidence that the registered letters and parcels have been delivered correctly. The hand scanner records the signature as well as the geodata (GPS) during delivery against signature. Due to the software problem, the devices discarded signatures from 11 August 2018 to 13 October 2018 without issuing an error message if they were unable to retrieve the geodata. This means the devices did not save the signature images of 74,000 letter consignments and 440,000 parcel consignments.

Around 18,000 scanners re-programmed throughout Switzerland

The specialists at Swiss Post resolved this technical issue with a software update on 13 October 2018: the 18,800 hand-held devices have now been re-programmed with the update. Swiss Post regrets that this issue took place and has now established additional checks to ensure that the software functions properly.The actual route of a consignment can now be traced independently of the signature. This also applies to the names of the recipients who have accepted the consignments in question, and means that Swiss Post can check whether consignments have been delivered by tracking.

November 20, 2018Delivery Trucks to Be Operated by FedEx ExpressFedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) today announced it is expanding its fleet to add 1,000 Chanje V8100 electric delivery vehicles. FedEx is purchasing 100 of the vehicles from Chanje Energy Inc and leasing 900 from Ryder System, Inc. The purpose-built electric vehicles will be operated by FedEx Express for commercial and residential pick-up and delivery services in the United States.

“FedEx continually seeks new ways to maximize operational efficiency, minimize impacts and find innovative solutions through the company’s Reduce, Replace, Revolutionize approach to sustainability,” said Mitch Jackson, FedEx Chief Sustainability Officer. “Our investment in these vehicles is part of our commitment to that approach of serving our customers and connecting the world responsibly and resourcefully.”

The vehicles are manufactured by FDG in Hangzhou, China, and purchased through Chanje Energy Inc., the company’s subsidiary for global business. Ryder System, Inc. will provide support services for all of the vehicles.

The EVs can travel more than 150 miles when fully charged and have the potential to help FedEx save two thousand gallons of fuel while avoiding 20 tons of emissions per vehicle each year. The maximum cargo capacity is around 6,000 pounds. All of the EVs will be operated in California.

FedEx has been using all-electric vehicles as part of its pickup-and-delivery fleet since 2009. We believe that wider adoption of alternative-fuel, electric and hybrid electric vehicles will play a key role in reducing global emissions, while diversifying and expanding renewable energy solutions. Read more about the company’s sustainability efforts in the 2018 Global Citizenship Report.

November 19, 2018 Gig-economy-based logistics startup Park N Parcel has signed a strategic partnership with Singapore Post (SingPost) to integrate its ‘parker’ pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) network as part of the post’s carrier-agnostic last-mile platform – LaMP.

Park N Parcel currently supports a network of more than 1,600 PUDO points or ‘parkers’, the majority of which are residential addresses where individuals receive S$1 (US$0.75) for acting as a PUDO point.

LaMP is able to integrate partner providers like Park N Parcel with SingPost’s assets, including POPStations, parcel lockers and brick-and-mortar collection points.As part of its LaMP initiative, SingPost is looking to gather logistics partners to create an ecosystem where all parties share logistics resources, solutions and capabilities. It also aims to promote logistics-enabled solutions and implement them across the supply chain.Alex Tan, group chief digital and technology officer, SingPost, said, “SingPost is delighted to work with Park N Parcel on LaMP. This collaboration will be the first of many as we reach out across the region and represents an important step in elevating industry standards as well as enhancing customer experience in the last-mile logistics landscape.”

Erik Cheong, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Park N Parcel, said, “We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with local industry leaders such as SingPost as we continue to improve on our services. We seek to provide both buyers and sellers the peace of mind while keeping costs affordable so that the delivery process will become an afterthought in the online shopping experience.”In addition to Park N Parcel, SingPost is also in advanced discussions with several retail and logistics partners around the region to join LaMP including an Indonesian last-mile operator with 1,500 collection points across 58 cities.